Employer Advance Notices of Layoffs and Plant Closures (WARN Reports)

The Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, signed into law on August 15, 2004, requires employers to provide 60 days advance notice of pending plant closures or mass layoffs. The law applies to “business enterprises” with 75 or more employees (excluding part-time employees). The Illinois WARN Law also defines notice-triggering events differently than federal WARN. A covered “mass layoff” under Illinois WARN is a reduction in force (“RIF”) at a single site of employment that is not the result of a “plant closing” and results in employment losses during any 30-day period (or, in some cases, during any 90-day period) for at least 33% of the employees and at least 25 employees, or at least 250 employees regardless of the percentage.

For more information on WARN reports and the WARN Act, contact the DCEO Bureau of Workforce Development: